The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has opened a fresh front in the battle over Nigeria’s soaring cement prices, questioning why a country with vast limestone deposits and enough installed production capacity to meet domestic demand continues to sell cement at significantly higher prices than some African countries.
The commission said a three-month cross-border investigation had uncovered preliminary evidence suggesting that prevailing cement prices in Nigeria may not be fully explained by normal market forces.
Its findings have now triggered a deeper investigation into possible anti-competitive practices in one of the country’s most critical industries.
The FCCPC’s Anticompetitive Practices Department conducted the study across Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Togo, examining limestone availability, production capacity, consumption and retail prices.
The comparison produced a striking picture.
While Nigeria has estimated installed cement production capacity of between 60 million and 65 million metric tonnes annually, domestic consumption is put at only about 25 million to 30 million tonnes.
Yet, despite the apparent excess capacity and Nigeria’s status as a net exporter of cement to neighbouring countries, domestic prices have continued to climb.
According to the commission, a 50kg bag that sold for between N9,300 and N9,700 in January had risen to N10,500-N13,000 by mid-year and reached between N13,000 and N15,000 in some locations by July.
The figures become more striking when Nigeria is compared with other African markets.
In Kenya, where the population is substantially smaller and cement demand was estimated at 9.3 million metric tonnes in 2025, a 50kg bag sold for about $5.40, equivalent to N7,344.
Tanzania, with a similar level of cement demand, recorded an even lower price of about $4.80, or N6,528 per bag.
Perhaps most revealing is Togo, a country without the limestone deposits Nigeria possesses, where a 50kg bag reportedly sold for about $6.75, equivalent to N9,180.
The price gap has raised a fundamental question for the regulator: if Nigeria has the raw materials and production capacity, why are Nigerians paying more for cement than consumers in countries with smaller markets and, in Togo’s case, no limestone deposits?
Cement manufacturers and other industry players have pointed to several factors behind the price increases, including rising energy costs, the depreciation of the naira, higher costs of imported machinery and spare parts, as well as transportation and logistics expenses.
But the FCCPC said it was not prepared to accept those explanations at face value.
The commission said it was testing the claims against verified information on production costs, pricing structures, capacity utilisation and broader market conditions.
Its concern centres on the apparent failure of excess production capacity to translate into lower prices, as would ordinarily be expected in a competitive market.
The investigation will therefore examine whether the market is being affected by coordinated conduct among companies, abuse of market power, deliberate restrictions on domestic supply, anti-competitive distribution arrangements or other practices prohibited by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act.
The regulator has already issued Notices of Commencement of Investigation and Summons to Produce to major industry players, demanding documents covering pricing methodologies, production levels, capacity utilisation, exports and commercial relationships.
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunji Bello, said the investigation was driven by the strategic importance of cement to the Nigerian economy.
According to him, the price of cement affects not only private home construction but also commercial development, public infrastructure and the wider cost of doing business.
Bello stressed that the probe was not an attempt to prevent manufacturers from making legitimate profits or dictate how companies should run their businesses.
Rather, he said, the objective was to establish whether prices were being determined by genuine market forces or by conduct capable of unlawfully restricting competition.
The investigation comes at a particularly sensitive time for Nigerians, as the rising cost of cement has pushed up construction expenses, making home ownership increasingly difficult and forcing developers to review projects and budgets.
For consumers, the central issue is no longer simply how much cement costs. It is whether the price Nigerians are paying reflects the real cost of producing and distributing cement—or whether something deeper is happening inside one of the country’s most powerful industrial markets.
The FCCPC now has the task of answering that question.
